Magnifique! French man wins Spine Race following late twist in Cheviot Hills

Sébastien Raichon has been crowned winner of the winter edition of this year's Montane Spine Race.

The French man was first over the finish line in the Scottish Borders shortly before 8am this morning (Thursday), after completing a gruelling 268-mile route along the Pennine Way - with a time of 95 hours and 43 minutes.

Battling snow, ice and later sodden ground, he found himself in front after longtime leader Eugeni Roselló Solé was forced to withdraw overnight suffering from cold and extreme exhaustion on the last leg over the Cheviot Hills.

The wintry conditions had made just getting to the start in the Peak District difficult for some with Storm Goretti forcing the cancellation of train services.

Competitors - who set off from Edale at 8am on Sunday - are given seven days to complete the course.

But, after more than four days and nights of non-stop running, Raichon raised his walking poles to confirm his arrival in Kirk Yetholm - prompting a shout of "magnifique!" from those waiting to welcome him - before touching the wall of the Border Hotel and collecting his medal.

The newcomer to the race said: “I ran a patient race, the parable of the tortoise and the hare was in my mind the whole way and I wanted to make sure that I was the tortoise. Eugeni is a young runner, I had to be patient.

"I was expecting smaller hills, and the trail was more beautiful and brutal than I had imagined."

The women's race is still underway with Anna Troup - who won last year's summer Spine - and Johanna Antila (Finland) currently leading the pack.

When asked what keeps runners coming back, Race director Phil Hayday-Brown, who was on hand with a hug, told Greatest Hits Radio: "They love the family feel of the race and they always think they can do a bit better, so it's pushing themselves against it. And because the weather is always different every year, it's a different experience."

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